


What Can You Do With A Giant Robot?

by rabidsamfan



Category: The Mighty Grand Piton - Fandom
Genre: Drabble Series, First Meetings, Five Minute Fandom, Gen, Giant Robots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:27:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21892897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rabidsamfan/pseuds/rabidsamfan
Summary: Especially when you didn't start out by looking for one.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	What Can You Do With A Giant Robot?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [enchantedsleeper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/enchantedsleeper/gifts).



**First, find your robot**

I used to think that was easy. Ask anyone; we already know where the Protectors are. After the War that Wasn’t, most of them settled like statues all over the world, right out where everyone can see them. There’s one in Trafalgar Square, sitting down between two of the Lions, leaning against Nelson’s Column like it’s found a comfortable chair. It looks kind of smug, to tell the truth, but you can tap on its nose all you like and it won’t respond. None of them will, not even when crews climb up them to clean off the pigeon poop.

**It isn’t a quest**

So nobody looks for a robot, except little kids or for taking selfies with. And believe me, I wasn’t even thinking about giant robots when I found one. I’d say I found “mine”, but I’m pretty sure he’s his own. Actually, he probably thinks I’m his. Temporarily, at least. Anyway, I wasn’t looking for a robot that night. I was just walking on the beach, trying not to think too hard about flying back to England, and whether or not I’d end up being as homesick for St. Lucia when I got there as I was homesick for London already.

**Look for something else**

If it had been someone else walking there, things would probably be different. They might have just wrinkled their nose at the sulphur smell and kept going. But it was me, and I remembered reading about a volcano in Mexico that didn’t used to be there. A farmer smelled sulphur and saw a crack in the hot ground that steamed and next thing he knew it was erupting. And I knew what sulphur smelled like, because we’d just gone to the hot springs, so I thought I’d better make sure that that I didn’t need to warn people. 

**Just follow your nose**

As I worked my way into the trees above the beach I crouched down to check the ground with my hands now and then to see if it was hot, and I watched for anything glowing, because you can’t see steam at night. I kept remembering the story about the tour guide who fell through a hole at the springs. I couldn’t decide if I was scared or excited. And the deeper I went the more I couldn’t decide. I tripped on something and when I got up, I froze. Through the leaves, I could see a glimmer of red.

**And don’t be alarmed**

I could hear the night birds chuckling at each other, like everything was normal. But away from the moonlight reflecting on the ocean it was hard to make out anything definite. A bit of a hill, maybe, and that unnaturally steady glint of light at its top. I stumbled into a log, a tree that had fallen sideways against the hill, and used it to scramble closer, the cool damp of the earth beneath my fingers a reassurance that this wasn’t a baby volcano. I got to the top and almost laughed. The light was under glass. I was safe.

**If you get surprised**

Safe, and curious too. So I started to dig out the lantern, or whatever it was. There was this big leaf, and when I pulled it away I could see that the glass covering the dull red light was only part of something larger. I cleared more dirt away, and then tried to see if I could pull off the glass part, so I could get a better look. All of a sudden it lit up like a car’s headlamp, a bright yellow-white beam that startled me so much I fell backwards. And when I hit the ground, I ran.

**Just be aware**

I didn’t want to tell my cousin about what I’d seen. He’d either laugh or want to go and see it too, and he’s too little for going around after dark. And I didn’t want to tell my aunt and uncle, because then my cousin would overhear, and he’d sneak out, and I’d be in trouble. Instead I cleaned out the scrapes I hadn’t noticed on my hands, and tried to just go to sleep. But I couldn’t. So I got dressed and went back. This time when I touched the glass cover and the light shone out I stayed.

**That what you’re seeking**

I’ve asked myself whether or not I kind of knew what would happen, and I’m not sure anymore. All I know is that when the hill that wasn’t a hill started to shake and rise, I wasn’t worrying about earthquakes or volcanoes. This was a made thing I’d found, even if I didn’t know who or what had made it. I backed up a ways for a better view, as the earth and leaves cascaded away, revealing a dark, not-quite-human face taller than my whole body. It’s eyes were closed, like it was sleeping. I was pretty sure it wasn’t. 

**Has its own ideas**

I waited, but the eyes didn’t open. I could see that some of the dirt had stuck to its eyelashes, was still caught in the crease of its mouth, and alongside its nose. That didn’t look comfortable, not even for a Protector. I told myself that if they could clean giant robot faces in Trafalgar Square and not get squished, it was probably a pretty safe thing to do. I think I even told myself that out loud. I must have, because when I got close enough to try to wipe away the dirt, it held still and let me.

**It’s been looking too**

I kept talking as I cleaned its face, using the patois I’d been picking up since we’d reached the island. “ _I am Connie. I am visiting. My uncle lives in Soufriere.”_ I used my t-shirt like a rag, since I had a white camisole underneath, and I swear it was only losing the layer that made the gooseflesh rise on my arms when the eyes opened. They were dark, like mine, and calm, watching me as I scrambled back to get a better view. “ _I am Connie,”_ I said again, and my voice only squeaked a little. “ _Who are you?_ ”

**And finally found you.**

The robot began to push itself up to a sitting position. I retreated again, all the way back to the beach, to give it room, and felt my heart dancing wildly inside my chest as the great mechanical man rose up out of the ground that had encased it long enough for trees to grow. It reached its feet and shook like a dog, scattering branches, leaves, and dirt in all directions. Then it reached down and offered its hand to me. “ _Bonjour, Connie, whose uncle lives in Soufriere,”_ it rumbled, with something like a smile. “ _I am Grand Piton.”_

**Author's Note:**

> I really enjoyed discovering this short! I hope that it does become a series someday. (And now I want to visit St. Lucia.) The film (as of 1/1/2020) is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9hbmMkdPzo (or just google it!)


End file.
